A Normal Teenager
by katerad4
Summary: They say timing is everything. What if Jacob Black had made it back to Bella's wedding BEFORE it took place? What if Bella saw him? Would she still have made it down the aisle? Or would she have realized, in the eleventh hour, what she was giving up? J/B
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

You know, I always wondered what might have happened if Jake had shown up BEFORE the wedding, and not at the happy, lovey-dovey reception right after. Would Bella still have made it down the aisle? Would she still have broken her best friend's heart, this time while he watched? This is my take on the 'Bella realizes she's making a huge mistake in devoting her life to a man who has done nothing but take hers away' alternate universe.

BPOV: Bella gets to the end of the aisle, when she notices Jake sitting with Billy, Sue, and Seth. Havoc ensues.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Twilight saga. If I did, it would have ended with Eclipse when Bella kissed Jake in that tent, and after the newborn battle she would have cried over his injured body for different reasons and apologized for being a complete idiot and begged him to give her a chance, even though she doesn't deserve one. Breaking Fail would never have happened, mutants would not have been spawned, and Jacob would not have been delivered a human-vampire consolation prize as an imprint, totally destroying his character arc.

If only.

Don't have a beta, my mistakes are my own! Cheers!

* * *

"I can't believe I just did that. Oh my god. I can't believe I just did that!" I panicked, gasping for breath.

"Bella, honey, calm down." Renee was flitting around me, her hands fluttering.

"Calm down?" I was practically hyperventilating. "I just... I just ran out of my own wedding!"

"Well, sweetheart, look on the bright side... At least you came to your senses _before _the 'I do's." Renee said weakly.

The lace of my wedding dress (_not my wedding dress) _was sticking to me, and I felt like I was roasting alive. God, why had Alice ordered it so _tight?_

"Help me." I struggled to reach the sash at the back of the dress. "Please, get me out of this, Mom." I could feel tears collecting in my eyes.

_What have I done?_

"Okay, hold still, I'm working on this knot... God, who tied this? I thought it was decorative..." I could feel her yanking at the silky ties that laced up the back of my dress, but it only pulled them tighter.

"I need it off, please, I feel like I can't breathe!" Hot tears were slipping over my cheeks.

"Scissors, I need scissors..." Renee dashed from the room, leaving me alone panting in Alice's massive bathroom.

I tugged at the silk ties desperately. _Oh god, I can't breathe, I can't breathe!_

Suddenly a hot hand braced against my shoulder, and I felt the pressure on my ribs release with a sharp tearing noise.

Jacob turned me gently and cupped my face in his massive palm. I hung my head in shame as he peeled my dress away from my body, too overwhelmed to even blush at the realization that he was seeing me in the white lace honeymoon lingerie that Alice had put me in.

I sobbed as his warm arms snaked around me, pulling a silky robe over my shaking shoulders.

"Shh... Bells it's okay." It was my favorite deep, husky voice, and I absolutely didn't deserve to hear it.

I turned and threw my arms around his neck, blubbering into his collar. "I'm so sorry, Jake."

"For what, honey?" Jake whispered.

I stared up at him through my blurry eyes. He was staring into my face, and I could see only love and concern in his eyes.

He had come back for me. Again. He always came back.

I dropped my face into his neck again, too ashamed to even let him look at me.

"F-For everything!" I clung to his wide shoulders. "For... for going to Italy, for getting mixed up with the Volturi, for not standing up to him when he wouldn't let me see you, for all those awful things I said after the fight with the newborns, for... for even agreeing to marry him in the first place!" I finished wretchedly.

Jake took my face in his hands and studied me. "Bells, what are you---"

"Bella, what is going ON?" Alice stormed into the room. She ducked into a crouch when she noticed Jacob. "_You." _She spat. "What on earth have you do---" Suddenly she gasped in horror. "What did you do to your dress!?"

"That's not my dress, Alice." I whispered.

"What do you--- Oh." Her face crumpled as she stared off vacantly into the future.

I stepped toward her, begging her to understand. "I'm sorry, Alice. I---I can't. I can't marry him. I can't..." ..._Become a vampire._

"Bella, the Volturi---"

"I know." I said quietly. "But... it could be years before they check on me and I want... something else." _Someone else. _"With... the time I have left."

Alice glared at me, her mouth turned down in a beautiful frown. I saw her eyes glaze over as she searched into my future, looking for indecision.

I knew she'd find none. I'd left the man I'd almost given my life for (countless times, if you count the bikes and the cliff...) at the alter, and there was no going back.

Finally her eyes cleared. She glared at me, then at Jake. Could she see him in my future? Could she even see a future for me at all? Her frown grew.

"Then we're staying. You can do whatever you want, but we're not letting them get to you." Alice promised.

"Letting WHO get to her?" Jacob cut in, looking panicked. "Who wants her now? What is she talking about, Bella?"

A timid knock sounded on the door. "Sweetheart?" Renee peeked around the door, freezing when she saw Jake.

"Who is---who are you?" She snapped, and I cringed at her rudeness.

"Mom, don't you remember Jacob Black?"

Renee's mouth dropped open as Jake stepped up to shake her hand, saying politely, "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Dwyer."

"My goodness..." Renee was staring up at Jacob. How long had it been since she last saw him?

"Yeah, R--Mom? Did you need something?" I asked impatiently.

"Bella, Edward is out here... He'd like to speak to you." She shot a quick look over her shoulder before turning back and whispering, totally ignorant that Edward would hear her anyway, "If you want me to, I'll tell him he's not allowed to see you, you can blame it all on me."

I smiled weakly at her offer. "It's okay. We'll have to talk eventually."

Edward pushed around Renee quickly, still looking perfect in his wedding suit.

My heart broke.

"Alice and--- Jacob, is it? I hardly recognized you, you look so grown up... I think we should wait outside for a few moments..."

As if that would keep things private... Half the wedding guests had supernatural hearing.

Edward indulged my mother's feelings, standing quietly as the three of them filed out of the room, though Jake looked rather reluctant, sending me a worried look over his shoulder as Renee guided him gently away.

"I'm SO sorry, Edward..." I spoke as the door closed quietly behind my mother and my two best friends.

He rushed up to grasp me in a hug. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry... I should never have pressured you into this when you said you didn't want to marry young... We can wait as long as you want, love."

"I don't want to get married, Edward." I whispered.

He smiled confidently, "Bella, in a few more years, I'm sure you'll reconsider. Impatient human hormones, remember?"

I pulled away from him in shame. That was the problem, wasn't it? I'd agreed to marry him so he would have sex with me and change me into a beautiful, strong, immortal vampire. What a pathetic, awful excuse to get married... and he'd encouraged me! He was doing it even now, dangling it in front of me like bait! An incentive to walk down the aisle!

"No, I won't." I shook my head. "I don't want to marry _you_, Edward... not now... not in a few years." _Not ever._

"Bella... What did Jacob do to you? Why is Alice reciting the Bulgarian national anthem backwards in her head?" Edward's eyes narrowed.

"Jacob didn't do anything to me." I bristled at the accusation. _Jacob didn't do anything but love me when I absolutely didn't deserve it._

Edward scoffed. "He decides to make an appearance at our wedding, you take one look at him and run, and now I find you together, barely dressed, and you tell me you don't want to get married at all? Tell me what he did. Did he touch you?" He snarled.

"No!" I cried. "God, Edward... This isn't about Jacob!" And, okay, so it was _definitely _about Jacob, but not completely. I whisper-yelled at him, mindful of Renee's ears. "I just---I can't lie to my parents, I can't give up Charlie and Renee and Phil and... and cooking! Riding a motorcycle, tripping over my own feet, and---and the sun." _My sun._

Giving up Jake... wasn't an option. I just simply... couldn't. And marrying Edward, becoming a vampire... I wasn't willing to risk that driving him away for the last time. If I got married, became a vampire... he might not come back for me again.

And I needed him to.

I needed _him._

For a while, I'd thought that I could give everything else up easily, but even when I'd thought that... I couldn't leave Jake alone. I should have been able to deal with it, being away from him when he'd run away, but I couldn't. I should have been able to let him go, knowing I'd have to say goodbye forever sometime soon, but I couldn't.

And that's what made the difference, really.

How could I walk down the aisle and marry Edward, while Jacob just stood there and watched me as I said goodbye to him forever?

I couldn't.

And what scared me the most was... if I hadn't seen him there, just that second...

I might have done it.

"And with Jacob, you don't have to; is that what you're saying? You don't have to give anything up to be with him because he's human?" Edward said slowly.

"That---That is _so unfair, _Edward." I breathed. "It's... It's not because he's _human. _I don't care that he's human or that he's a werewolf any more than I cared that you were a vampire!"

"But you do care." He continued, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You care about not being able to see your family, to eat and sleep and have children and---"

"I do care about those things, Edward." I admitted. "But I cared about you enough that I was willing to give it all up. If it was just about that, about being human, I'd go call up Mike Newton, but---"

"But?" He grasped at the word like a lifeline.

"But I can't give Jacob up." I whispered, tears falling again. "I---I can't. You left me and I fell in love with him and I---just can't. I won't."

"I see." He choked, turning away from me. "You don't... love me anymore?"

"I do." I spoke, and my voice was thick. "I do love you... I just don't love you enough." _I don't love you enough to break Jacob's heart again. I don't love you enough to break my own again. To break _me_ again. _

"I---Tell me what to do. I'll do anything, I---" A frenzied look came into his amber eyes. "Take off your clothes."

I shook my head sadly at his obvious desperation. Was that Jacob growling? "That won't change anything, Edward..."

In the next second, his hands were stroking over my cheeks, my back, fluttering down the front of my robe. I could feel his cool mouth on my neck.

"Edward, stop..." I begged. That was definitely Jacob growling...

He pulled away from me, his eyes now black with lust. Blood lust? Or another kind?

"I thought this was what you wanted." He growled, his hands gripping at the sash Jacob had tied into a tight knot at my waist.

"Please don't." I whispered.

"Calm down!" I heard Alice shriek from outside. _Jake... _I moved toward the door automatically.

Edward caught my wrist, begging me with his eyes to stay.

But I couldn't. Not when Jake needed me.

"Let me go." I pleaded.

His eyes pleaded back.

I twisted my arm, and he let it slip easily out of his grasp, pain twisting his perfect face.

I recognized it for what it was.

An acknowledgment of defeat.

A reluctant acceptance.

The part of my heart that was not screaming out to find Jake and wrap my arms around him and never let him be upset again broke into little pieces at the surrender.

For a second I let myself mourn my love for the agonized man in front of me.

Then, as I should have done the night he left me alone in the woods... I let it go.

I threw the door open to find Alice holding Jacob back and Renee hovering anxiously.

Jake was vibrating in his anger.

"Alice." I begged.

She let him go and he dove toward me, falling to his knees and hugging me around the waist. "I---God, Bella..."

"Shh..." I stroked his hair as his shudders subsided. "I'm okay. You're okay."

"I thought---he was trying to---" He choked out.

"He would never." I promised. It was the truth.

As desperate as he'd been, he would never have forced me. There is no honor in taking what does not want to be taken, and (not always to his credit) Edward was nothing but an honorable man. He would not hurt me.

Jake growled.

"He wouldn't." I repeated.

Even if I knew it was impossible, that Edward would never hurt me, Jacob didn't.

Edward would never hurt me. _Again. _That was his new worst fear.

Wasn't that what had gotten me into this mess? Edward was afraid to get to know me, and his game of hot and cold had peaked my interest. Edward was afraid to be around me, and so I followed him. Edward was afraid to love me, and so, in the typical fashion of my favorite tragic literary romances, I had fallen in love with him. Edward was afraid to kiss me, and it had made him that much more kissable. Edward had been afraid to damn my soul, and so he had refused to change me. Edward had been afraid to expose me to his world, so he had left. Edward had been afraid of the dangers of werewolves, so he had kept me from my best friend. Edward had been afraid to make love to me, to change me, so I had agreed to marry him.

Edward's fear and my ignorance had put me into this mess. Edward's fear and my ignorance had hurt Jacob Black.

So Jacob did not know that Edward would not hurt me.

But I did.

Jacob buried his face deeper into my stomach.

"Hey." I said softly. "Look at me." I would say anything to appease his fear.

He tipped his head back and my body ached at the sight of his watery eyes. "I wouldn't have just let that happen." _Even though I knew it wouldn't. _ "I would have yelled for you."

He closed his eyes tightly and nodded.

"Mrs. Dwyer, would you come help me break the news to the guests?" I heard Alice ask quietly.

I glanced up to meet my mother's confused eyes. "I'm okay. Go, please."

She allowed the small vampire to pull her away, plainly torn between her desire to stay with me and demand an explanation and to do as I asked and help Alice get rid of all the extraneous people.

"Wait!" I cried.

They stopped, and I saw Alice practically sifting through the future as if to try to figure out whether I'd changed my mind. I cringed. What use was there for false hope, when it would do nothing but disappoint her? "I---Tell Dad I'm okay, please? Tell him---Tell him Jake's here and we're both fine."

Charlie would understand better than Renee. Charlie had seen Jacob piece me back together. Charlie would understand this. Billy would understand this. If no one else, Seth would understand this. Seth had seen Jacob and I kiss on a cold night, in a tent in the mountains.

Alice's mouth drew into a tight line as Renee smiled and nodded.

Jake was still hugging my midsection tightly, whispering words I couldn't hear into my robe.

I brushed a hand through his hair again, and he sighed at the contact.

"I missed your hair." It escaped my mouth before I could stop it.

"I'll grow it longer, if you want." He said immediately.

My heart swelled. I didn't deserve him. I brushed my thumb over his cheek.

"Did you mean what you said?" He whispered.

"Which part?"

"The part when you said you would never marry him. Did you mean that?"

I glanced back at the bathroom I'd left Edward in. There was no reason to cause him _more _pain.

"Gone." Jake said. "I heard him jump out the window."

Guilt pulsed like acid in my veins. I did not want Edward to feel the way I felt when he had left me. I did not want that pain for anyone. _They always told me I was too forgiving..._

"Did you mean it?" Jake persisted.

His brow was wrinkled with worry, and without thinking, I smoothed the lines away with my fingers as I breathed, "Yes."

"That you... don't love him enough to give me up?"

"I---Yes."

I felt my legs being swept out from under me, and suddenly I was kneeling too.

"Why?" His breath was hot on my forehead, and I tipped my head back to look at him.

"W—What?" That was not a question I had expected.

"Why don't you love him anymore?"

His hands crept into my hair.

"I----He----"

Jacob was leaning closer now. "He what?"

"Hetried to take you away from me." I blurted. That had really been the nail in the coffin, hadn't it? What right did he have to keep me from the one person who had made me happy while he was gone? From the man everyone (but myself) had known I was in love with?

"When he wouldn't let you see me?" Jake dragged his nose across my cheek.

"When he came _back._" I whispered into the hot air between our mouths.

And then he was kissing me.

And I was kissing him back.

Again.

His hot lips moved against mine frantically, almost desperately, and---_like before_--- I fisted my hands in his hair, trying to pull him closer---_not like before_---and he growled against my mouth.

I welcomed the heat that flooded my body, reveled in it.

He pulled away from my lips to drag his tongue along the line of my jaw. "Jake!"

"I love you I love you I love you..." He whispered it into the corner of my mouth, the hollow beneath my ear, the curve of my collarbone.

I pushed him away from me, grabbing his face between my hands. For a moment his features fell in hurt and rejection, and then I kissed him firmly on his wet lips. I wanted him to know I knew what I was doing, so I stared into his face hard as I whispered back, "I love _you." _

Now it was my turn to explore. I nipped at his lower lip, let my tongue lap up a bead of salty sweat beneath the line of his jaw, peppered his throat with open-mouthed kisses.

"Bells..." He moaned, his head falling back.

I pounced on the newly exposed space, raking my teeth over his neck. "Mmm..." I hummed happily as I sucked on his feverish skin.

"Shit." He cursed. "Your mom."

I scrambled to my feet, straightening my robe. "How close?"

"Bella?" Renee called.

"Close." Jake whispered, smoothing my hair for me. "It's okay. You look appropriately frazzled for a runaway bride." He waggled his eyebrows.

"You... big jerk!" I smacked his arm.

He grinned. "There's my Bells."

"Bella, sweetheart?"

"Right here Mom."

She scrutinized Jake and I, her eyes sharp and calculating. God, was my mouth as red as his?

"Honey, I think we should go back to Charlie's and talk."

* * *

Bella Swan agrees to Renee's proposition even though she can see the hurt in Charlie's eyes and she doesn't know how she'll explain it right to Jacob.

When she goes upstairs, wanting nothing more than to collapse on her bed and sleep for days, Rosalie Hale is waiting for her.

Bella freezes in shock, hand a foot from the light switch.

She and Rosalie stare at each other in the dark.

* * *

"Alice tells us you're going to Florida."

"I think I need some time." I manage. "To--- process."

"I think that's a good idea."

This startles me.

"I can't say I like your timing... but I understand your choice. The others will too."

"Will?" I sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Right now their emotions are clouding their rational thinking." She snorted.

"I'm so sorry." I mumbled. "I didn't know I was going to...I didn't plan for this to happen."

"I know." She sighed. "But I'm glad it did. You thought you knew what you were getting yourself into, Bella, but you just can't, it's not possible. I love my brother, but I'm glad you finally made the right choice."

Rosalie turns to go.

"How... is he?" I gasp out at the last second, and then wish I hadn't. _What right do I have to ask?_

She turns slowly. To my surprise, I see she looks sad. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's gone now, though."

"Gone where!?" I panic, my mind flashing to the crowded streets of Volterra.

"Denali." She says quickly, picking up on my panic. "Just for a while, I think. He said something about being noble."

Words from long ago filtered back into my mind like water. _"I can be noble, Bella. I'm not going to make you choose between us. Just be happy, and you can have whatever part of me you want, or none at all, if that's better. Don't let any debt you feel you owe me influence your decision."_

Well _that _made me feel awful all over again. Why couldn't I have decided this _then?_

"I didn't want to hurt him." I whispered. "But I just---can't."

She nodded. "Believe me, Bella, I understand. None of us will hold it against you... Not even Edward."

"Still. Tell them I'm sorry." I begged.

"I will." She promised, and turned to leave.

I sank down onto my bed.

"Bella?"

Rose was halfway out the window, sitting primly on the windowsill. "Yeah?"

"Try to have fun in Florida. Go to the beach, enjoy the sun... Flirt with boys, even. Try to be a normal teenager for once." Her voice was wistful.

I would try. If not for me, for her. "I'll come back tan. Well---Sunburned." I amended.

She smiled wanly. "Thanks."

* * *

Renee Dwyer does not understand why her daughter i_nsists_ she tell Jacob Black in person that she's leaving for a while.

Charlie Swan does.

* * *

Jacob panics, tearing himself out of my arms with an expression of pain and dawning horror.

"It's only for a while!" I cry.

"How long?" He asks, shaking less.

"I---don't know." I'm ashamed to admit. "I haven't bought a return."

He turns his back on me, and now I start to panic.

"Jake, I just need a break!" I try to explain. "That's all it is."

"From me?" His voice breaks, and I dart around him to grab his hands tightly.

"Not from you. _Never _from you." I promise him. "Just from... Forks. This whole town is going to be buzzing about the wedding being called off for days and I just--- I can't deal with that right now. Please, _please_ understand." I beg.

"I don't want to lose you again." He whispers, and I feel like a horrible person for the millionth time.

"You won't. Not ever. Tell me what to do, Jake, please, tell me how to make you believe me."

He finally meets my eyes. "Kiss me. Kiss me and come back."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Jacob Black stands with a hand over his tingling lips. He watches Bella Swan walk out of his garage and decides that tackling him onto the hood of his Rabbit is the sexiest thing she's ever done.

* * *

So there we are! I'm thinking about leaving this guy as a oneshot, but I do have about ten more pages written in this 'universe'. What do you think? Would you care to read more?


	2. Chapter 2

Ugh, my computer got this awful virus and I was afraid I lost all my files, but alas, THEY WERE RECOVERED! Including this story!

This is installment 2/? of 'A Normal Teenager'. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

When Renee notices Bella's lips are pink again as she crawls into the back of the police cruiser, she resolves to call Charlie as soon as Bella falls asleep and demand he tell her _everything _about Jacob Black.

* * *

Renee absolutely insists that I toss the one piece I brought and buy something cute and new, and I don't complain much.

"This would look adorable on you!" She holds out a pink and white polka dot bikini.

"Pink?" I ask, incredulously. "I said I'd do a bikini. I NEVER said I'd do pink. Have you _ever _seen me wear pink, Mom?"

Renee sniffs, disappointed. "Fine. How about purple?"

"How about the green one behind you?" I compromise.

Renee looks stricken as she picks it up. "Are you serious? It has RUFFLES! I didn't even suggest it because I thought you'd hate that!"

"It also has boy shorts." I point out.

Edward had liked me in blue. Jake always paid special attention when I wore green.

"Try it on!"

I did, and when I surveyed myself in the mirror, I was pleased to find that the color really did suit me, and that the ruffles at the bust made my average-sized chest look a little bigger.

When I came out of the dressing room, Renee cried, "I'M BUYING THAT FOR YOU!" at once.

And I let her (normal teenagers let their parents buy them gifts). After all, I'd promised Rosalie I'd come back with some color.

"Can we go to the beach?" I ask as we walked out of the store with three new bathing suits: a cute red bikini with wooden beads (Renee's choice, and since it really _didn't _look bad, I had caved), the green one I liked, and a sensible royal blue one piece (I _did _look nice in blue, after all) I'd insisted on.

"Lunch first. We need to talk about your friend Jacob."

* * *

Bella Swan tells her mother everything over a burger and fries (normal teenagers eat fast food), minus the little details about vampires and werewolves. Renee is happily surprised to find out her daughter has fallen in love with her best friend, and decides that anybody that Charlie didn't shoot for kissing Bella without her permission is probably one hell of a boy. She wishes Sarah Black were alive to see her son get the girl. She remembers a barbeque from over a decade ago, and two mothers watching their children fight with water pistols._"Wouldn't it be great if they ended up together?" _Sarah had said.

* * *

My new cell phone (another thing Renee absolutely insisted upon) rings while I'm throwing together a sandwich on day four of my 'vacation'.

The number isn't familiar, but it's a Forks area code, so I pick it up.

"Hello?" I ask uncertainly.

"Oh, Bella, good, I was so nervous I'd written the number wrong and I'd have to call your dad again!" The familiar voice surprises me.

"Angela?"

"Yeah, it's me, sorry, I should have said that, right? It's me." She laughs nervously.

"No, no, it's alright. How are you?"

A small silence follows my question.

"I was actually calling to see how _you _were."

_Oh Angela. _"I'm good." I reply quietly.

"Are... you really?" She asks sincerely.

I smile even as I feel tears prick at my eyes, grateful to have one REAL friend from high school who still somehow actually cares about me.

"I am, actually!" I laugh. "I really am! I---Do you want to maybe have lunch with me when I come home? I'd like to tell you about what happened." I would tell her. I could tell her, like I'd told Renee, sparing the supernatural bits.

"Oh, I'd love to!" She says happily, and I thank god or whoever again that she's such a good person.

"I—Great, Angela, that's great!" I manage to modulate my voice so that even I can't tell that I'm crying.

"I'm so glad that you're alright." She breathes again.

"I'm glad you called. Thank you, really." I try to pack as much gratitude into my tone as possible.

"Don't even think about it." Angela insists. "I was just worried, that's all. Can I---? Ben---"

I smile. "You can tell Ben. And tell him thanks too, for thinking of me."

"Call me when you get home."

"I will, promise."

"And have a good vacation!"

"I will."

"Bye, Bella!"

"See you soon, Angela!"

* * *

Bella Swan can't sleep. She lays awake in bed for hours every night.

This is new.

She's never had trouble falling asleep before, not even after nightmares. She's become accustomed to them.

She fiddles with her charm bracelet in the dark, fingering the little wolf charm Jacob Black gave her on the day she graduated. When she sits up to see it better in the dim light from the window, the heavy, heart-shaped diamond dangling on the opposite side surrenders to gravity and falls below her hand.

She stares at it.

With a sigh, she stumbles out of bed. She falls three times in the dark, unfamiliar house, but finally makes it to Renee's 'junk drawer'.

With trembling hands and teary eyes, her needle-nosed pliers pry apart the silver ring that fastens Edward Cullen's heart to her charm bracelet.

Renee Dwyer watches from her darkened bedroom door as Bella stumbles back to bed.

In ten minutes, when she peers in through the door, her daughter is sleeping soundly, her braceleted hand pressed to her heart.

* * *

"I'm kind of seeing somebody, sorry." I stammer and blush as the third boy of the day asks me to take a walk with him. This one is almost as tall as Jacob, but with curly brown hair and blue eyes, the wiry body of a swimmer.

"Oh, my bad." He smiles disarmingly. "Just thought you could use some company. He's a brave man, sending his girl to the beach alone." He looks me up and down appreciatively.

I'm surprised and flattered. "I'm not from here. Washington."

"Really?" He asks, now genuinely surprised. "You were looking pretty at home here in the sun."

"My mom lives here." I explain, and I'm surprised that I'm having a perfectly normal, un-awkward (except for the he-tried-to-hit-on-me part) conversation with a boy my age. Normal teenage girls talk to other teenage boys. "I grew up in Phoenix. I live with my dad now."

He flops down onto the sand next to me, and I find I don't really mind, now that he knows I'm not interested in anything other than a polite conversation. "Ahh, Phoenix. Plenty of sun there. Not much in Washington though, right?"

I smile at the thought of Jake, my own personal sun in Forks. "There's enough for me. Have you ever been?"

"Nah. Born and raised Floridian." He shrugs and extends his hand. "I'm Greg, by the way."

"Bella." I shake it. "And you should go sometime. It's beautiful."

He winks. "I believe you."

I blush again.

"Hey, hey, I'm not trying to get myself somewhere, I'm just saying. You should learn to take a compliment." He holds his hands up defensively.

"Thanks." I mumble, still red.

"Bet your boyfriend loves that." He jokes.

"Loves what?"

"Making you blush."

I smile. "I guess he does, yeah." I decide right then that _boyfriend _is such an inadequate word. Mike Newton is Jessica Stanley's _boyfriend. _The comparison is laughable.

"Lucky man." Greg says.

I blush again. "I'm a lucky girl." _Unbelievably lucky. _

He sighs resignedly. "I guess I should get back to my friends and tell them the bad news."

I frown in confusion.

He smirks. "My buddy Dan told me he'd like a shot if you wouldn't go get a smoothie with me."

I bite my lip to contain my laugh. "Well, then yes, I guess you should tell him the bad news. It's a good thing Jacob isn't here, I don't think he'd like you or your buddy." I say with complete honestly.

"Jacob, huh? 'Jacob and Bella'." He tries it out. "I think 'Greg and Bella' sounds okay." He winks.

"Well he calls me Bells. 'Jake and Bells' is hard to beat, don't you think?" I counter.

"Touche." He laughs.

"Hey, where are your friends sitting?" I ask, impulsively.

He gets up and points out a group of four guys a little way off.

"Dan!" I yell, standing up. Renee is watching with a bemused expression on her face.

A dark brunette with dimples turns his head in confusion, but smiles goofily when he sees who called out.

"I'm taken!" I yell back, shrugging theatrically to show him I'm teasing.

"Damn!" He yells back, as his friends and Greg laugh. "Well, tell him from me he's a lucky guy!"

"I will, thanks!" I respond.

I offer Greg my hand again, but he hugs me instead, and though I'm a little taken aback (and he's the wrong temperature, despite the sunny day) I don't push him away.

"It was really nice to meet you, Bella." He says.

"It was nice to meet you too." I smile.

He jogs back to his friends, who slap him on the back in typical boy-fashion. He has an infinity symbol tattooed on his shoulder blade, and that makes me smirk.

_A girl could do worse. _I think, and hope he finds a nice girl to get a smoothie with him today.

"What was that about?" Renee asks wonderingly.

"I'm trying to lighten up. Be a _normal teenager_." I confess. "And... can we make one more stop before we go back to your place?"

* * *

"Are you _sure _you want to do this?" Renee asks for the eighth time.

"Yeah." I nod.

"This is so unlike you. This is... a very impulsive decision." She lectures, trying to play a concerned parent, but she's holding back a smile. "I'm not sure how your father will feel about this."

"Neither am I." I confess. _But normal teenagers don't always take into consideration what their fathers think. _

"Swan, Bella?" The receptionist calls out. "You're up."

Renee opens her mouth. "I'm sure." I smile. _The guys are going to LOVE this. _

"Okay. But you're telling Charlie!" She laughs.

"So what are we doing today?" A petite woman asks me as I sit down in her chair. Her hair is short and spiky, styled like Alice's, but bubble-gum pink.

I hold out my wrist and offer up the wooden wolf who now dangles alone on my bracelet.

"Something like this."

* * *

"All done!" The chipper artist smooths over my skin with a final flourish. "Go check it out."

I flex the fingers of the hand I've been crushing Renee's with as I stand and wobble over to the full length mirror.

My eyes find the tiny russet brown wolf on my hip and I smile.

I'm happy I didn't let the artist talk me out of getting the wolf's full body. The little wolf sitting on my hip looks just like Jake in look-out mode: fierce and beautiful. The script is so close to the spiky fur of his back that I know no one will be able to read it without being up close and personal.

"It's perfect."

* * *

It's the thirteenth day of her 'vacation' and Bella Swan is looking at her cell phone for the fifty-thousandth time.

She picks it up, flips it open, and then snaps it shut, pushing it away from her.

This has gone on since Renee hauled her into the Verizon store on the second day of her stay.

Ten minutes later, she gets up to get a drink of water just so she doesn't have to look at it anymore.

She watches Jeopardy with Renee and Phil, who screams out the answers to the category 'Famous Games' happily, and applauds Bella when she gets almost every one of the 'Literary Lovers' clues correct.

When she gets back to her room and spies her phone where she left it on the bedside table, she lunges for it and dials in the number she knows best, fidgeting as she listens to it ring.

When Jacob's breathless voice greets her with a "Black residence!" she falls down onto the bed with happy relief.

"I miss you so much." She blurts.

Jacob Black's exhaled breath is heard audibly though the phone. "I was afraid you'd forgotten about me. I miss you too."

"Never." She promises, and brushes a hand over the wolf on her hip. "I have a surprise for you when I get back."

They talk for two hours about absolutely nothing before Billy Black yells something about running up the bill, and Bella Swan sleeps peacefully that night.

* * *

"You're sure you want to leave so early? You've only been here three weeks!" Renee whines as Phil packs my bag into the trunk of his car.

"I'm sure." I nod. "I have to talk to the people at Port Angeles in person if I want to make a good impression, and it's getting a little late to accept admissions."

I'd called the University of Alaska the day before to check on canceling my acceptance, only to be told by a very confused secretary that everything had been taken care of by a Mr. Jasper, who had 'assured her that he was perfectly qualified to act on your account'. I apologized profusely for the mishap,with a litany of _of course _Mr. Jasper had thought of everything, and _thank you so much _for your help, yes everything is _perfectly _in order.

"Always the responsible one." Renee chuckled, and then hip bumped me, winking. "Usually."

"Har har, mother."

* * *

I hug Charlie tightly when I get off the plane, dropping my carry-on clumsily on the floor.

"Missed you, kid." He mumbles gruffly into the top of my head.

"I missed you too, Dad." I pull away from him and pick up my bag.

He grins sheepishly after our atypical showcase of affection.

"Soo..." I begin, once we've picked up my checked bag and are pulling out of Sea-Tac. "How would you feel about me living at home this year?"

He pulls a double take. "What? What about college?"

I bite my lip. "Well... I have an appointment with the admissions staff at Port Angeles College scheduled... I was kind of thinking I'd like to do that instead."

"What about Alaska?" He asks, predictably.

I cringe. "I---Well, I honestly don't know what I was thinking, Dad. I don't want to live in Alaska... I'd.... miss home."

He finally smiles, and something in the pit of my stomach unclenches. "Then I love you living at home next year."

I hesitate now. "There's something else I have to tell you."

We stop at a light and he sends me a serious look. "I don't like the sound of that..."

* * *

"_Do you have some kind of wolf fetish!?" _

Bella Swan is glad her father is in the habit of driving with both hands on the wheel, or he just might strangle her.

He mutters darkly through the next three lights and then sighs. "I guess I couldn't expect you not to act like a normal teenager once in a while."

Bella turns her head towards her window to hide her smile.

* * *

I have to bite my lips to keep from squealing like a sorority girl when we turn onto my street and I see Jacob's Rabbit parked outside the house.

"Knew he wouldn't wait long..." Charlie chuckled.

When he parks, I linger for a second near the trunk before Charlie smiles knowingly and says simply, "Go."

I rush up the porch steps and tug open the front door---

And run into a hot, hard, wall of teenage werewolf.

"Bells!"

He scoops me up and pulls me into a tight hug, spinning me around as if I weigh nothing.

"God, I'm so glad I'm home." I whisper into the crook of his neck.

"Forks is glad to have you back. La Push will be too." Jacob sighs into my hair.

"That's not what I meant."

He pulls back in confusion.

"Home is not Forks and La Push." I insist. "Home is Charlie and _you."_

He smiles so widely I can almost count his molars.

* * *

We lay on my bed together ("Leave the door open." Charlie had grumbled.) in silence, just happy to be together again.

"So..." Jacob begins slowly. "Carlisle called and told Sam all about the Volturi."

I sit up so fast that my head spins. "Oh god, I'm so sorry, I should have said something about that before I left!"

"Hey, it's okay." He soothes, rubbing my shoulders and pulling me back down next to him and tucking me into his chest.

"Do they all hate me?" I wonder aloud.

"No, Bells, of course not. They never hated you."

"Oh, I don't know, Leah does a pretty good impression..."

He laughs and my whole body shakes with his. "I think she likes you better now, if anything."

"What?!" I gasp.

"Hey, don't ask me, that's just the impression I get when we're phased. As for the others... Sam's really glad you're staying, Italian vamps included. He's always had kind of a soft spot for you. Emily too, she's dying to see you. Quil and Embry will probably knock you off your feet when they get to you, no matter what I tell them... And hey, I told them not to bug you about what you did in the garage, but it's _kind of_ a guy's fantasy to make out with a hot girl on the hood of his car, _soooo _don't expect them to keep quiet about _that." _I blushed despite my best efforts._ "_Seth's absolutely beside himself, nearly peed himself when I phased the first time after the wedding. Paul might give you a hard time, but that's a front, he says its always 'more interesting' when you're around, which in Paul-speak equates to 'welcome back'. And Collin and Brady... Well, you never really got to know them, but they're kind of taking their cues from the rest of the pack, so they'll be happy to see you too... Hey, we're having a bonfire tomorrow night to celebrate you coming back, is that okay? I know we didn't ask, but---"

His speech ended when I grabbed a handful of his hair and kissed him fiercely.

A few minutes later, he pulled back with a dazed expression on his face. "So it's okay then." He muttered.

"It's _great_."

* * *

Bella Swan and Jacob Black happily enjoy making out for the next ten minutes, and a second before Jacob Black's hand closes over Bella Swan's right breast, Charlie Swan yells up the stairs, "It's getting a bit QUIET up there, Bella!"

Jacob Black groans and rolls off Bella to lie face down on her bed, successfully concealing the strained front of his pants. "You're lucky your dad's here." His voice was muffled by her comforter.

"Am not." Bella pants. He turns his head to find it in very close proximity to her heaving breasts. "Want to be alone with you. Preferably now."

This does nothing to help Jacob Black will away the hard bulge in his jeans.

* * *

When nighttime rolls around, Charlie yells up the stairs that Billy will want Jake home soon.

I groan. "I don't want you to go."

He kisses me. "I don't want to go, believe me." Suddenly his eyes narrow. "Hey, weren't you supposed to have a surprise for me?"

I smile widely. How could I have forgotten? "Yeah, I do." I giggle, uncharacteristically.

He grins cheekily. "Soooo, where is it?"

I bite my lip and unbutton my jeans.

I'm very surprised when Jake's bulging eyes don't pop out of his head and roll away.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Jacob." I tease, and he finally blinks.

"What are you doing?!" He hisses, eyes flicking to the open door behind me.

I pull down my zipper and tug on my right belt loop.

"Showing you your surprise." I pull my shirt up over my stomach, revealing my tattoo.

Jake's mouth falls open so quickly that I suspect his jaw has unhinged. "Oh my god, Bells..." He moans, dropping onto his knees to inspect the tattoo.

His eyes flick up to me, half disbelief, half lust. "You got a tattoo."

I blush at the fire in his eyes. "I did."

"I---is that... me?" He asks breathlessly.

"Yep. As close as the tattoo artist could do. I described you for about five minutes straight to make sure she got it right. Read the script on your back."

He squints, and then a silly grin breaks out on his face. "Wolf girl?"

"Yeah." I blush brighter. "I figured its appropriate now."

His eyes fill up with love. "Yeah." He croaks. "Did it hurt?"

"Sort of." I admit. "But it was worth---" My breath whooshes out of my mouth as he leans forward and presses a tender kiss to my hip. "---it." I finish breathily.

"I love you. God, I love you." He murmurs, kissing all around the tattoo, the palm that cupped his face, up my arm, then neck, to finally meet my waiting lips.

"I love you too." I sigh against his lips.

"Jacob!" Charlie warns from downstairs.

* * *

This time Bella Swan notices the hardness pressed up against her stomach as she breaks away from Jacob Black's mouth.

She and Jacob look down at the same time to the place his erection is pressing into her, then back up into each other's red faces.

"Goodnight." Jacob squeaks before bolting out of her room.

She hears his "Night, Chief!" and the door slam behind him before she remembers to move.

* * *

Jacob Black is _very _happy he drove so he doesn't have to phase just yet.

He takes advantage of having his thoughts to himself when he pulls the car over halfway to La Push to take advantage of something else.

Voila! Part two! Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated! I'm kind of working on another piece, which is way too early in it's stages to be published, and I guess I've gotten caught up in it (That, and the end of the academic term and then my ridiculous job and... Well, excuses excuses.) But if you like my fic, keep an eye out for a new story sometime in the future!

Without further ado...

VVVV

When I pulled up to Sam and Emily's the next day, it didn't look too crowded yet. I checked my watch. _Early. I'll help Emily in the kitchen. _

I barely kept hold of the three dishes I was carrying in my struggle to press the doorbell.

When Sam and Emily answered the door together, Emily took the food out of my hands, and a second later, I was being crushed into an unfamiliar chest.

_Sam Uley is hugging me._ I realized.

"I'm so glad you're here." Emily gushed.

Sam finally let me go, looking wary. "Sorry... Did I smash you?"

"No!" I cried. "I just- wasn't expecting that." I admitted.

He grinned. "We're glad you're back to stay. And I'd prepare yourself for more hugs tonight."

Before I could check myself, I threw my arms around his waist and squeezed with all of my human strength. "Thanks." I spoke into his chest, and then pulled away, red-faced.

vvvvv

Sam Uley and Bella Swan stared at each other for another full minute in his tiny front hall.

Bella Swan never realized how much "We're glad you're back" would mean to her, coming from Sam Uley, the man who had found her alone and broken in the woods, the man who had tried so hard to keep Jacob away from her so long ago, the man who had lead his brothers into danger all for her protection, the man she had hurt (not the only man) by taking Edward back.

Sam Uley never realized how much Bella Swan's choice would mean to him. She was just a girl who'd had her heart broken, who he'd found curled up on the forest floor, who'd been hurt by leeches just like he had. Sam had wanted to hate her when she showed up at Jacob's house and screamed and cried in the rain, for making his brother miserable, but he couldn't. He'd wanted to hate her when she found out their secret, but he couldn't. She was just a broken girl.

He'd really _really_ wanted to hate her when she chose Edward Cullen, but Jacob would imprint anyway, and everything would work out, more or less. He'd wanted to hate her, he'd tried, but when he phased after what should have been her wedding and found Jacob Black _frolicking _(and there was really no more manly word for it) in a stream in the woods, reliving "I don't want to get married, Edward" and "I can't give Jacob up" and "I love _you" _over and over again, found his brother finally, after all this time, _finally _happy, he couldn't help feeling grateful. When Jacob burst into the house and yelled that Bella was coming back, and he saw Seth Clearwater whoop in delight, Quil and Embry high-five, even Paul grin a little, he couldn't help but rejoice with them.

And when his imprint cried happy tears and whispered, "I feel like she's the only one who _understands_", Sam Uley couldn't find it in his heart to resent Bella Swan at all.

vvvvv

Jake found me in the kitchen an hour later and licked a smudge of cupcake frosting off my cheek. "Jake!" I squealed, twisting away from his hot tongue. "You act more like a dog every day!"

He snorted. "You like it. Don't lie."

"Oh, hello to you too, Jacob." Emily said in an attempt at sarcasm, but unable to hide the smile on her face. "It's nice to see you. How am I? I'm doing great, how about you?"

"Sorry Em." Jake grinned, slinging his arms around my shoulders and leaning forward to rest his chin on the top of my head. "Can I steal her for a few minutes? I'll bring her back, I promise."

She gave him a stern look. "And if I say yes?"

"I will... not steal any of this food until you say I can." He said solemnly.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that."

I laughed as dragged me outside outside, plopping me down on the porch banister and jumping over it to the ground outside, our faces now level.

I took advantage of this to lean forward and kiss him sweetly. "Hey."

"Hey." He smiled, then suddenly dropped his eyes nervously. "I'm-I'm sorry I ran out so fast last night."

I blushed, remembering exactly _why _he'd run so fast. "It's okay." I chewed my lip.

"I didn't mean... You know I'm not-I haven't-" He clamped his mouth shut to cut off his very uncharacteristic nervous stammers, and inhaled a deep breath. "You're the only girl I've ever kissed, just... so you know."

My mouth dropped open in shock.

"So... I'm not gonna... you know... push you. For _stuff._ I mean, I know you-" He shook his head. "You've probably-"

"I've probably what?" I asked, completely at a loss.

"Done... _stuff._" He said, awkwardly.

"Oh." Well, that was unexpected. "Jake, I-"

"No, don't." He moaned, covering his eyes with his hands. "I-I don't know why I said that. Forget it, seriously. I _don't_ want to know. Don't tell me."

_I think you might want to know this..._

"Jacob Black." I said sternly.

Just as I'd hoped, he peered up at me sheepishly.

"I don't know what kind of _stuff _you think I've done... But I haven't, I guarantee it." I finished, blushing.

"You- Really?"

"Really." I assured him. "I-Edward was the first person I ever kissed... And that's all we did. The most... _stuff _I've done is with _you_. And... you _are _a better kisser, in case you were still wondering." I finish, smirking. _Much better than kissing a rock._

Jake beamed. "Of course I am!"

I leaned forward. "Remind me?"

Jacob answered with his lips.

vvvvv

I'd barely been in the kitchen again for twenty minutes before I heard "Her truck's here, where is she?"

I tensed, my hands frozen over the brownies I was cutting.

I turned slowly, bracing for impact.

Quil and Embry hit me at the same time, which just about knocked all the air out of my lungs.

"Careful!" Jake hissed from the living room.

"Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes!" Embry cried. "We missed you around here Bella."

"Yeah, and let me say, the tattoo is AWESOME. Though your wolf looks wimpy... I think you should complain." Quil nodded seriously.

"Shut your mouth, asshole." Jake yelled from the couch, where he and Sam were fiddling with the TV antenna.

I blushed crimson. _Get used to it, Bella._

"You got a tattoo?" Emily rounded on me.

She, Quil, and Embry formed a perfect line of crossed arms and expectant looks.

"Let's see it, then."

I screwed my eyes up tight and inched my shirt upward, happy to have worn low-rise jeans for once, so I didn't have undo them as I'd done for Jake.

"Oh, Bella, it looks just like him!" Emily squealed.

Quil whooped in delight and inspected it more closely.

Embry and I both blushed a little as we met each others eyes and then looked away quickly. "I guess Jake really has managed to get under your skin."

I laughed, grateful for his joke, and dropped my shirt. "You could say that."

vvvvv

Bella Swan worked happily in the kitchen with Emily Young, preparing an almost literal mountain of food. She snuck glances over her shoulder at Jacob Black every few minutes, sprawled across the carpet watching television with his pack, happy just to have him close.

Jacob Black barely paid attention to _The Fast and the Furious_, preferring to listen to the easy banter between Bella and Emily in the kitchen, to the happy lilt in Bella's voice that he swore he hadn't heard since he told her scary stories on a foggy day at First Beach, happy just to have her close.

vvvvv

"I want to talk to you."

I was shocked to find Leah Clearwater standing in the open doorway, staring straight at me.

"I-Leah." I stammered. "Yeah, sure..."

She turned on her heel and I hurried to follow her, shrugging in response to Emily's questioning look.

I followed Leah out into the small back yard and seated myself next to her in the grass beyond Emily's garden.

"So... You wanted to talk about something?" I prodded, when she said nothing.

She stared at me hard.

"He could still imprint you know." She said finally, without even attempting to soften the blow.

I cringed. "Yeah, I suppose he could."

She looked startled at my blasé response. "And that doesn't _bother_ you at all?"

"Of course it does." I admitted softly. "But- I'm going to love him either way, so I guess I can't do anything about it, can I?" I sighed. "He doesn't think it will happen to him, and if he's really sure, then I-I guess I'll just have to trust him on that one."

She looked at me like I had got three heads. "Good luck with that." She said, though her tone was less scathing than I would have expected, and she looked a little defeated.

And in a flash of insight I realized that her sad beauty, as opposite as it was in every feature, light versus dark, hard versus soft, reminded me so much of Rosalie Hale that I suddenly felt like I might cry.

"Sometimes... sometimes you get a choice that other people don't get." I said softly, still thinking of Rosalie and Sam. "And it doesn't seem like there's a good reason, why some people get to choose and others don't... but... maybe everything has to be terrible for you to figure out how wonderful other things are. Things worth choosing. Things that are worth losing other things over, in the end."

She looked up at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

"You're really strange, you know that?"

I sighed and rested my chin on my knees, "I know."

We sat together in silence for twenty minutes, listening to summer crickets.

"I'd like to ask you something, and it'll probably sound bitchy." Leah finally spoke.

_How bad could it be?_ "I'll deal with it."

"What did you see in that bloodsucker, anyway?"

I sighed again, not feeling offended in the slightest. After all, how could I get angry with her for asking when I'd just spent three weeks asking myself the same thing?

"He... He was everything I thought I'd always wanted..." I began. "Mature, devastatingly intelligent, appreciative of classical music, fine art, literature, eloquent, romantic, handsome..." I laughed softly. "Quiet to the point of being antisocial, brooding, protective... Like a character out of a book. A sad, self-effacing, Byronic hero..."

"I don't get it." Leah said blankly.

I struggled for the right words. "I-I guess I wanted someone like me. And he reminded me of myself, in some ways. A lot of ways. I wanted somebody who would understand why I always felt-disconnected. A little displaced from everything, like there was something wrong with me..." I shook my head. "He really was everything I wanted._"_

She scoffed. "Then I still don't get it. You dumped him? Sounds like your Mr. Perfect, way you go on about him. I mean, since you don't have to deal with the _smell." _She sneered.

"He is perfect." I admitted. "In his way. But that doesn't mean he's perfect for me. And that's what I didn't see. I was so caught up that I never realized that just because he was what I'd always dreamed of, that didn't mean that he was good for me. He wasn't. Maybe I was for _him, _with my brain all hard-wired the wrong way, or something... But he wasn't right for me, just because I thought he was what I wanted."

"And Jacob?" She jumped in, accusation in her voice. "What's he?"

I smiled softly, fiddling with the hem of my t-shirt. "Everything I never knew I needed. And that's so much more important, so much more right than anything I ever had with Edward. He's... He's the only person who's ever made me feel like it's okay that I'm...weird." I couldn't come up with a more appropriate word. "That maybe it's a good thing, even. I don't know. It's hard to explain. I never feel like I have to be... _perfect._ I don't have to try to prove that I'm worth something. He's... He's the only one who's ever made me feel like I'm worth something the way I am _now_. I'm happy when he's happy. I'm happy when we're together. Happier than I ever was with Edward... even before he left, I think. It's not... angsty or complex or fated or any of those... awful, pressing, over-dramatic things. It just is. He's just Jake, and I'm just Bella, and that's... the way its supposed to be. I don't have to be anyone other than the person I am right now, and I wouldn't change a single thing about him, even the bad things. It's like... we're both kind of mixed up and broken, but our pieces fit together."

As I mulled that over, a strange little laugh escaped me. "God, that was a horrible explanation."

"No it wasn't."

Jake's voice startled me. He was leaning against the open back door, staring at me with an intense expression on his face.

I bit my lip, knowing I'd been caught red-handed.

Jake glared in Leah's direction, and she took the hint and left.

He crossed the yard sat down next to me, close enough for me to feel his heat radiating through my jeans.

"So you heard all that?" I asked in a small voice.

"Yeah."

"Are you mad at me?" I was afraid to look him in the eye.

In a second I found myself being cradled in his lap. "You're the most insane girl..." He kissed my forehead. "I am the furthest thing from mad right now... I love you so much."

"I love you too." I whispered into the crook of his neck.

His grip tightened. "I told myself-I told myself it didn't matter, why you chose me in the end... But I guess I was kind of worried that maybe you just wanted... _life, _a human life, more than you wanted _me_. That I was just- convenient for you. And I told myself it didn't matter, if you didn't really love me the way I love you, or the way you loved _him_, as long as I could make you happy, and you were alive..." His voice was choked.

"Jake..." I twisted in his lap to face him. He looked so _sad. _"Jacob... A human life would mean nothing to me without you in it." I cupped his face between my hands. "I meant what I said. I am so much happier... so much more comfortable being with you than I _ever _was with him. Do you remember what you said about... about the sun? And eclipses?"

"Yeah." He breathed, his forehead up against mine.

"Well you were right." I said firmly.

"But-You said-" His voice broke.

"You said that the sun can't fight with an eclipse. And you were right." Bright liquid pooled in his eyes, and I kissed his closed eyelids when he tried to blink it away. "But Jake... Eclipses are only temporary."

He dropped his head, but I continued. "As... As cosmic and beautiful as eclipses are... They can't last forever. Everything on the planet would freeze over and die, if the sun stayed hidden like that all the time. They're... something that comes and goes. They're not_ meant_ to stick around. The sun always comes back, because the sun is what keeps everything growing and _living. _And-And that darkness, when an eclipse crowds out the sun... that just reaffirms how important the sun is. How beautiful and warm and giving it is. _You _have always, and will always be the sun to me, Jake. I just needed an eclipse to make me see it." I kissed his forehead now. "I love you because you're _you. _Not because of what you can _give_ me. Not that I don't _want _those things, but I'm sure Mike Newton would be HAPPY to-"

Jake's lips cut me off as the flattened me onto the grass. "No." He growled, kissing me forcefully around his words, "Mike-Newton-will never-bother you-again." His mouth broke free of mine and kissed down the center of my chest, following the buttons on my blouse. "You are _mine _now."

"Yes." I gasped as he licked from my collarbone to my ear. "But-we're in Sam and Emily's yard..."

He groaned as if in pain, then suddenly sat upright and shouts, "I heard that!"

"See what I mean?" I sighed.

"You didn't hear that, did you?" He asked quickly.

"No..."

"Good. Fucking Paul." Jake muttered darkly.

I cringed, happy, for once, that I couldn't hear. "Paul's here?"

"And the rest of the guys."

I clambered to my feet unsteadily. "Time to face the firing squad, then..."

He chuckled. "You'll be fine, you made brownies!"

His chuckles turned into full-out laughter at my skeptical look. "Trust me."

I sighed. "I do." I grabbed his hand for physical and emotional solidarity. "Let's go."

vvvvv

"God, these brownies are awesome. Did you make these, Em?" I heard Paul say as Jake and I made our way back into the kitchen.

Jake squeezed my hand, and that gave me the strength to speak up. "I did."

My voice came out a little higher than usual, but can you really blame me for that?

"Bella!" Seth Clearwater scrambled out of his chair to barrel into me, lifting me clear off the floor.

"H-Hey, Seth." I gasped as he crushes the air out of my lungs. "It's great to see you."

He let me drop back down to the ground, bouncing on his heels.

"Leech-lover." Paul stared hard at me.

I bit my lip, but tried to not to balk. "Hi Paul."

He gave me a good once-over with his hard eyes before he sniffs haughtily. "So how's your blood-sucking leech of an ex-fiance?"

All the warmth in the room suddenly drained like the stopper had been pulled and I heard Jacob growl behind me.

I chose my words carefully. "I'm not exactly sure." I said quietly. "I believe he's in Alaska right now, but I haven't seen or spoken with him since... three weeks ago." I said instead of 'the almost wedding'.

He continued to stare at me, his mouth a hard line. "And the rest of them?"

"I saw Rose." I admitted. "The night before I left." I realized now that Jacob didn't know this part. I smiled softly at the memory. "She stopped by to tell me that she understood and that I should have fun in Florida."

The pack's faces twisted up in surprise, shock, confusion, and (on Quil only) amusement.

"I thought that one hated you?" Paul shot back, trying to catch me in a lie that wasn't a lie.

I looked down at me feet. "No, not really. She just has a different view of her... life... than the rest of her family, and she's satisfied now knowing that I made the... 'right choice'." I quoted her.

"Wait wait wait-" Quil looked even more amused now. "So... Hottie Vamp was Team Jacob?"

I felt a blush rising in my cheeks. "I think she's more... Team Bella-Stays-Human. She doesn't much care for werewolves, I'm afraid..."

Jared snorted. "Well, feeling's mutual. They stink."

I bristled at the insult, a reflex reaction. "Well, everyone smells fine to me."

"Yeah, but your sense of smell sucks." Embry added, most un-helpfully.

I frowned. "Oh, thanks. Pick on the human."

Paul sniffed. "Well, you smell better now that you don't reek like them."

"Thanks?" I replied uncertainly.

"Whatever." He mumbled, stuffing another of my brownies into his mouth. "Are we going to the beach, or what?"

vvvvv

"I can't believe that went okay." I breathed as I hoisted myself into my truck.

"I told you not to worry." Jake grinned, hopping in next to me.

I turned to kiss him. "Yes, you did."

"Not that I'm complaining..." Jacob grinned as I pulled away and started to back out of Sam and Emily's yard, "...but you seem a lot more... touchy, now."

I peered at him from the corner of my eye, trying to watch the road. "Well, I was kind of unavailable before..." I said delicately. Of course I wasn't touchy... I was engaged. It wasn't appropriate for me to be kissing or hugging someone other than my fiance.

Jake's tone darkened slightly, "I know... but I meant... with him too. You guys didn't... kiss this much. Well... not around me..." He seemed to drift off in thought.

"No, we didn't." I said firmly.

I could feel his eyes on me. "Why?"

I bit my lip, looking anywhere but at him. "Do you want a short answer or a long one?"

"How about a true one?"

"They're both true." I said.

"Then I want both." He decided.

I heaved a deep sigh. "Okay... I guess... The short answer is that... It was hard for him to kiss me because of of his... thirst."

I think I heard a low growl from the passenger seat, but Jacob's tone was mostly neutral when he asked for the long answer.

I kept my mouth shut for a minute, deliberating.

"Bells?" Jake prompted.

"I'm just trying to figure out how to say it." I said quietly.

"Okay."

He gave me a minute to collect my thoughts.

"It was hard for us to be close because it was difficult for him to maintain his control." I kept my voice casual. "So... We didn't really have a lot of choice when it came to... _stuff._" I felt a blush rising. "Because he didn't really think it was a good idea, and then he wanted to wait until... after... and anytime I-"

Jake laid his hand over mine. "Honey?"

"It's nothing." I said, absolutely horrified to feel tears pricking the corners of my eyes. "It's just... sometimes... I got... frustrated?" I hesitated. "Because... I wanted to-" I broke off, suddenly mortified.

"...do... _stuff?" _Jake asked, his voice carefully devoid of emotion.

Well, he'd asked for the truth.

"Yeah." I fixed my eyes on the road. "But... He always pushed me away, and I guess after a while... I just... stopped trying as much because I got... tired of being rejected." I finished miserably.

Jacob was silent for a few seconds before: "Pull the truck over, Bella."

I blinked back tears dejectedly, resigned to the fact that Jacob would get out of the car and run back home. _It was stupid for me to tell him that. _I berated myself. _Why would he want to hear about that?_

I sniffed as I put the truck in park on the side of the deserted road.

A second later Jacob has slid his warm arms around me. "Come here."

My tears suddenly overflowed, streaming down my face as he clutched me to his warm chest.

"I'm sorry." I apologized. "It's stupid. I didn't mean to-"

"It's _not _stupid." Jake spat. _"He's_ stupid. He's a mother fu-"

"Jake." I managed to scold weakly.

"He's an imbecile, Bella." Jake would not be deterred. "I— Bells... I never want to push you away. Ever. I've always wanted you. I always will."

I threw my own arms around his neck and cried. "I'm so sorry, Jake! I'm such a horrible person."

"What?" He asked, taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"I did that to you!" I whimpered. "I kept pushing you away from me when I shouldn't have and maybe if I'd just- Then none of this would have happened and I wouldn't be such a mess and-!"

"Shhhh." Jake stroked my hair. "It's okay, Bells. You're here _now. _We're together now."

I cried softly into his neck until all my tears were gone, and he pulled off his shirt to wipe my face.

"Thanks." My voice was thick.

He shrugged. "I only wore it for you, anyway."

I felt myself flush and I sniffled. "I don't really mind when you _don't _wear a shirt..."

Jacob grinned broadly. "Oh really?"

My brightening cheeks were apparently answer enough.

"You like the muscles." He winked cheekily. "Don't deny it."

I reached out to cup his cheek. "I liked you _before _the muscles, too."

His eyes become soft at the memory. "Sort of."

"More than sort of." I admitted as I leaned in to rest my face on his chest. "I just happened to be in denial, back then. You've always been beautiful, Jake. In every way."

I could feel his heartbeat pick up underneath my cheek.

"Can I get that in writing?" Jacob's voice was huskier than usual. "The 'in denial' thing? 'Cause then maybe the guys will stop ragging on me about how pathetic I used to be abou-"

He choked on air a little bit when I placed a soft, open kiss above the blazing spot underneath which his heart thumped comfortingly.

"B-Bells?" He stuttered as I trailed wet kisses up his chest and across his collarbone. "What are you d-doing?"

"I thought it was obvious." I murmured, feeling my cheeks heat as I watched a bead of sweat slip down his neck. "Do you-Should I stop?" I flicked my tongue out daringly, then surrendered to the desire to nip at his soft earlobe.

He let out a shaky breath. "Uhm, _no._"

"I love you. God, I love you." My words were muffled as I raked my teeth over a thrumming vein in his neck.

I couldn't reach. I wanted to be closer. I _needed _to be closer.

I fumbled for my seat-belt and released it with over-eager fingers.

"I love you t-"

When I threw one leg over Jacob's lap, straddling his waist, his chest rumbled with a growl.

"_Bella._" Jake moaned. "Fu-"

His hands flew up automatically to drag me closer, they slipped down over the seat of my jeans.

"Sorry, I-" He breathed, moving them back to the small of my back.

"Don't." I pulled one of my hands out of his hair to reach behind myself and shove at his wrist. "I want-You can-It's okay." I stammered inarticulately.

He let out a weak sort of whimper as he grabbed the back of my neck with one hand to pull my face to his.

As his tongue pushed into my mouth, I felt his other hot hand slide down over my ass and jerk me roughly forward.

I squeaked a bit against his mouth as our bodies pressed together and, for the second time, I felt the hard evidence of his arousal through our pants.

Jake's fingers tightened on my ass as I dipped my hips lower, wanting to feel more.

"_God._" He keened, thrusting upward a bit.

"Mmmm." I moaned into his mouth as I found a decent rhythm, squeezing my eyes tightly shut as the friction from the seam in my jeans and the movement of his rutting hips drove me crazy.

"Bells." He growled, tearing his mouth away.

The buttons on my blouse bounced off the leather seats as he tore it open in one sharp pull.

I whimpered at the passion in the movement.

"Ja-cob." I panted, feeling sweat drip down my back, making my tank top stick to me.

Jake attacked my bared skin with new fervor, leaving little nips all over, his tongue trailing lines along the edge of my camisole. "So good." He murmured, tugging at the neck of my shirt to lap at the sweat-dampened valley between my breasts. "You look-You taste-Oh god, Bella."

At that very inopportune moment, a dark van zoomed past my truck, the bass pounding as the driver honked the horn and the passengers hooted gleefully.

vvvvv

Jacob Black and Bella Swan froze like deer in headlights, staring into each others faces, wide eyed and panting.

Bella peered down at her chest, the edge of her cotton bra peeking from beneath her stretched out tank top, then up into Jacob's lust-glazed eyes.

"I-I-" She stammered, her face feeling indecently hot as she scrambled back into the driver's seat.

It was lucky that Bella Swan was presently incapable of stringing together a sentence, because Jacob Black would almost definitely have been incapable of understanding it, too distracted by the heavy, sensual smell filling the cab of the truck and the extra-rosy hue of Bella's kiss-swollen lips and the pink flush across the barely-bared swells of her breasts-

Bella leaned forward and used her sleeve to wipe off her steamed-up windshield, further assaulting her bottom lip with her tiny white teeth and blinking profusely.

"I, um, I think maybe-I should-I mean, Charlie is probably waiting for me." Bella stammered as she double-pumped the clutch.

"Yeah." Jacob croaked, shifting minutely in his seat to try to alleviate the pressure on his groin.

"Yeah."

As Bella checked the road, she and Jacob locked eyes, but she immediately blushed and looked away.

She completely missed Jacob Black's satisfied grin as she pulled off the shoulder and back onto the road.

VVVV

Soooooo...

What will happen next?

Will Bella be able to maintain her optimistic outlook on imprinting? Will she confront Edward and the Cullens again? How will Charlie feel about Jacob and Bella's blossoming relationship? And what about the Volturi?

Stay tuned! (And leave feedback if there's anything you particularly want to see!)


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